Monterey considers proposals for Fort Ord land

The Monterey City Council on Tuesday will consider getting serious about two development proposals for more than 100 acres of Fort Ord land belonging to the city.

The council will consider staff recommendations to:

· Begin formal negotiations with the DBO Development Co., a company headed by Monterey developer Don Orosco, toward the eventual purchase and development of about 100 acres for business-industrial park and automotive-recreation uses.

· Consider renting for free one or both of two open-space parcels — a 24-acre Fort Ord parcel and a 75-acre Ryan Ranch parcel — to the Monterey Sports Management Co. while the company develops a public sports complex.

The two groups were the only ones to make formal proposals to the city last fall for Monterey's undeveloped Fort Ord land.

The Orosco group proposed more industrial-business park uses like neighboring Ryan Ranch, and a focus on operations catering to automobile enthusiasts to capitalize on the Peninsula's Auto Week and the site's proximity to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Frank Flore's Sports Management group proposed 14 baseball fields, four multipurpose fields for other team sports, and a 100,000-square-foot wellness and training center.

The council will consider the two proposals as separate items on its 4 p.m. afternoon agenda.

A staff report says the proposed exclusive negotiating agreement with DBO would cover 103 to 127 acres. The process would take about 18 months to produce a development agreement, master site plan and land-use approvals.

"DBO has demonstrated its access to significant financial resources and its experience with real estate development," the report says.

The report says negotiations would include setting a land-sale price and not a lease price.

As for the Sports Management proposal, a staff report says the group held off further work on the project until the city decides whether it would be willing to provide the land "free of charge in exchange for its development as a community benefit."

The staff recommends a possible 10-year, no-cost lease based on "a fully developed proposal that provides adequate evidence" of substantial community benefit and indirect economic benefit.